a girl walks into a bar
by invisibly inked
Summary: it's the beginning of something, maybe.


There's a man sitting at the bar, alone, lazily flicking his lighter on and off while everyone around him laughs and shouts and gets sloppy drunk. He's bored out of his skull and would like nothing more than to get out of this place, except he'd been abandoned by his friends (aka his ride) some time ago. Assholes. The next shuttle bus going back home wouldn't arrive for another thirty minutes.

The shot glass next to him is still full of whiskey, untouched and it doesn't really matter because he's never been one for drinking much anyway, not much of a smoker either and really he'd only bought the lighter on impulse. It's got the Club Errera logo on it, nothing too fancy. He'd find a use for it someday, he figured. Now though, the only use the thing had was to keep him busy, give his hands something to do so he wouldn't look like a _total_ loser and hey, maybe it actually made him look cool and mysterious.

Unlikely. Very wishful thinking though.

He sighed, flicked the lighter on. If only something interesting would happen.

A girl walked into the bar just then and (and he doesn't really believe in fate but coincidences-coincidences he could do) he doesn't pay any mind to her at first because tons of girls walk into tons of bars so why would this one be any different?

He flicks the lighter off and then-it's snatched up out of his hands and he's ready to shout, ready to be pissed at whatever _dick_ just stole his lighter but then he looks up and he sort of half falls in love with the girl who just stole his lighter (and the other half comes later, not that much later but still sometime in the future when they meet again dress in armor and she's called Carolina and he's called York and the first time he sees her fight he's absolutely amazed and scared at all the same time. it's when she saves his life and he saves hers but she doesn't say thanks and it doesn't matter because when they're both still awake at three in the morning after a particularly difficult mission standing in the common room in their pajamas and it's just them and the silence, Carolina will brush her thumb over his knuckles before she leaves and he knows that's what she means).

Her flaming red hair and bright green eyes stand out against fair skin and there's a beautiful smirk on her face before she says, "I needed a light" and uses it to light up the cigarette between her fingers. She takes a long drag before blowing the smoke out in small, nearly perfect rings.

"Cool," he says because he doesn't really know what else to say-and okay, actually he has a couple of pick-up lines in mind but he gets the feeling that she'd kick his ass if he tried to use any on her. She definitely looks the type to be able to kick his ass.

"Just one of my many talents," she says slyly and is she-is she _flirting_ with him?

"I've got some tricks of my own," he tells her, "For instance, I am one of the rare few who can lick their elbow."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Can you really?"

"No," he says smiling, "Not really. I just wanted to see if I could impress you. Were you impressed?"

She turns her head away so that he doesn't see her smile, tries to squash down the laughter that wants to escape but he still notices the way the corner of her lips curve up and he's sure that he is smiling like the ultimate goofball right now. He's never really believed in love at first sight but maybe-

"What's your name?" he asks suddenly and she puffs on her cigarette again before snuffing it out in the ashtray.

"Do you really need to know?" she asks.

"I'd like to," he says honestly and the anticipation is killing him, "for the next time I'll see you."

She tilts her head to the side a little, eyes softening. He sounds so sure that they'll meet again. Her phone rings and she rolls her eyes, knowing exactly who's calling.

"Alright," she tells him, "How about I tell you the next time we meet?"

"Promise?" he jokes but he means it.

"Promise," she says seriously.

Her phone rings again. She sighs in annoyance. "I have to go-oh, right."

She holds his lighter out to him. He stares at it for a moment (finally a use for it, and maybe this is fate after all) then shakes his head.

"Keep it," he tells her, "Until the next time we meet."


End file.
